Shiites rally behind Bahrain protesters

From Iran to Saudi Arabia and through the Iraqi city of Najaf, Shiites across the Middle East have rallied behind Shiite-led protesters in Bahrain against a violent crackdown by the ruling Sunni dynasty.

Yesterday, hundreds of Bahraini riot police backed by tanks and helicopters fired shotguns and tear gas at demonstrators in Manama's Pearl Square, clearing the symbolic heart of the uprising in Bahrain.

Its mainly Shiite opposition reported at least three protesters killed and dozens wounded in the violent assault.

In Shiite-majority Iraq, the spiritual guide of the sect, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called for the crackdown to cease.

Sistani, who is based in the Iraqi city of Najaf, "appealed to Bahraini authorities to stop violence against unarmed citizens," his spokesman, Hamad al-Khaffaf, said.

He said Sistani also expressed "grave concern at steps taken by governments over the last few days, and stressed the necessity of solving the problems in that country through peaceful methods."

Sistani's voice adds great weight to calls from Shiites across the Middle East who have rallied to support the Shiites in in the strategic Gulf kingdom.

Armed forces from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates rolled into Bahrain on Monday at the invitation of the Sunni monarchy to help Manama deal with Shiite-led protesters.

Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said he was "worried that the intervention of foreign forces will complicate the issues instead of solving them," according to a statement from his office.

Basheer al-Najafi, another Najaf-based senior Shiite authority, also called for an end to the violence in Bahrain.

"We were surprised that the Bahraini government asked for forces from neighbouring countries, who targeted villages and people who had raised slogans of peace, and were targeted by gunfire and mortars," he said in a statement.

The assault prompted radical Iraqi Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr to call for protests in Baghdad and the southern city of Basra on Wednesday and nationwide demonstrations on Friday "in support of the people of Bahrain," his office said.

Only hours after the call, some 2,000 Sadr supporters staged a demonstration in eastern Baghdad, with smaller numbers out in Najaf and Basra.

Iran, which sees itself as the beacon of Islam and champion of the world's estimated 100 million Shiite Muslims, condemned the "mobilisation against the population in Bahrain," calling it "heinous, unjustifiable and incomprehensible."

"How can those who use weapons against their people want to govern them?" Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said, quoted by the state news agency.

Iran has been especially rattled by the military intervention in Bahrain by troops from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

"This expedition is a very foul and doomed experience and regional nations will hold the American government responsible for this," IRNA quoted him as saying.

In Kuwait, where Shiites make up around 30 percent of the 1.15 million citizens, Shiite MPs strongly slammed the Gulf Cooperation Council for sending troops to crush the Bahrain protests.

Shiite MP Saleh Ashur warned he would question the prime minister in parliament if Kuwaiti troops were also sent to bolster Bahrain's rulers.

Sunni MPs, however, praised the move and called on the Kuwaiti government to rush forces there.